In perhaps the most important document of his papacy, John Paul II frames the boundaries of what's right -- and includes contraception among the wrong

Pope John Paul II will not be led into temptation, and if his latest and most important encyclical has its way, he hopes to deliver his church from evil. For years the Pontiff has been aware that contemporary liberal morality has deeply influenced the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church's 980 million members. And he will have none of it. In his 179-page Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), he argues that good is clearly distinct from evil, that morality is not situational, that right is right and wrong is really wrong, and that the church's teachings will truly...